Collagen preparations have been used in a variety of capacities, from gelling agents in food, to pharmaceuticals and health aids, to photography, cosmetic manufacturing, and adhesives. Within the health industry, collagen preparations have been used to enhance athletic performance by supplying essential amino acids and shortening recovery time after exercise, and have also been used as weight loss aids and digestive aids as well as to relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and improve joint function for patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Collagen preparations have been used as supplements to combat osteoporosis and improve the condition of fingernails and hair. In the cosmetic industry, meanwhile, collagen preparations are available as topical products for use on the skin to increase skin suppleness, reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, and to reduce the appearance of stretch marks.
Although the raw materials for extracting collagen are readily available as byproducts from other industries, such as the fishing and poultry processing industries, current methods for producing collagen are expensive and time-consuming Cartilage tissue must be separated from meat and bones and chopped. Hydrolysis of collagen often requires the sequential use of multiple enzymes, each of which likely performs best in a different set of reaction conditions (e.g., temperature, salt content, solution pH, etc.). Further, specialized digestive enzymes are expensive and the cost increases when multi-enzyme cocktails are used, especially on an industrial scale. Following hydrolysis, a number of purification steps are often required, including the use of decolorizing agents, antibacterial and antifungal agents, and the like. Product odor is also a consideration; collagen preparations with strong odors will be unsuitable especially for incorporation into cosmetic or food products.
It would thus be advantageous to have an enzyme-free process for producing hydrolyzed collagen preparations. It would further be advantageous if this process resulted in a product or products with a white or light yellow color and minimal to no odor. Still further, it would be advantageous if collagen preparations produced according to this process were able to supply essential minerals in addition to the amino acids and peptides naturally present in the preparations. The present invention addresses these needs.